Low light solutions

Possible solutions

A number of different solutions and technologies can be used to counteract the problems associated with low light, and a brief overview of three different solutions is given below.

One commonly used solution is auxiliary lighting, where additional lamps are used to illuminate the parts of the scene that are too dark.

Figure 7: Auxiliary lighting is a widely used solution. Additional lamps are set up to illuminate the parts of the scene that are too dark. IR lighting is a good choice for discreet or covert installations.

One of the benefits of adding extra light is that you are widening your range of camera options. For identification purposes, a camera with an extremely high resolution sensor, but with poor low-light performance, can benefit greatly from an auxiliary light source.

Figure 8: A scene can also be illuminated with infrared (IR) light. This light is not visible to the naked eye, which makes it suitable for covert installations, although it does lack natural colors.

Another solution is thermal cameras, which rely on the fact that all objects radiate thermal energy, or heat. Thermal cameras have a special type of sensor that can register this heat and form an image based solely on the temperature variations in the scene.

These images lack natural colors, but are very useful for detecting objects in absolute darkness. Thermal cameras can even see through smoke and light mist, making them suitable for perimeter and area protection.

Figure 9: Thermal cameras are very useful for detection in absolute darkness, but also in environments where there is smoke or mist.

Lightfinder technology is suitable for installations where it is not practically possible to add light. This technology is based on Axis know how, in-house technology and a sensor with exceptional light sensitivity. Combined with high-performance optics, the camera delivers images in situations where the use of a standard network camera would not be possible.

The good color reproduction of the Lightfinder platform also makes it a good choice for meeting recognition and identification objectives.